RIYADH – Prince Khaled Bin Bandar, Emir of Riyadh region, has said that studies and preparations for introducing public transport system for the capital city are in full swing. “The system, which consists of networks of trains and buses, will ease traffic flow and put an end to congestion,” he said. The Emir was speaking to reporters Sunday after opening two road projects in the city. Prince Khaled, who is also chairman of Riyadh Development Authority (RDA), opened the extension of two roads (Abubakar Al-Siddiq and Al-Arouba) that passes through the Riyadh Airbase, and the tunnel at the intersection of King Abdul Aziz Road with Al-Arouba Road. The Emir also laid foundation stone for the tunnel project at the intersection between Salahuddin Ayyubi Road and Makkah Road. Prince Khaled named the square at the intersection of Abubakar Al-Siddiq and Al-Arouba after Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz, the late Emir of Riyadh. Accompanied by Prince Turki Bin Abdullah, Deputy Emir of Riyadh, and RDA officials, the Emir made an inspection tour of the control room of Riyadh traffic department. Ibrahim Al-Sultan, a member of the RDA and head of its center for projects and planning, said that the new projects would be instrumental in easing traffic jams on the two roads through which more than half a million vehicles pass by in a day. The official recently disclosed that RDA had approved a comprehensive plan to overhaul the capital city, keeping wide, open areas in the city center and building a ring road around them. “The project will bring about a facelift of downtown Riyadh and make it an outstanding historic, administrative, economic and cultural center in the Kingdom,” Al-Sultan said adding that 3,088 development projects worth SR278 billion are being implemented in different parts of Riyadh region. Prince Khaled also opened the activities of the GCC Traffic Week. The week with the slogan “Our goal is your safety” is organized by the Traffic Department in Riyadh region in cooperation with the Saudi Aramco. Zain KSA declared it will launch a traffic awareness campaign simultaneously with the Gulf Traffic Week, adding that it will broadcast a number of awareness messages to its employees, subscribers, and social networking accounts followers. – SG/SPA
